My Other Half
by flinn
Summary: A shaman decides to teach Hwang Tae Kyung a lesson...
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: If I owned You're Beautiful, I would have Hwang Tae Kyung on a leash next to me at all times (be afraid Jang Guen Suk, be very afraid- rawr ;D).**_

"Long time ago, before the Sans people, the Earth was dark and barren."

All attention was on the figure in the middle. The warm campfire lit up his haggard face eerily.

"There was no sun, no sky, no rivers, no animals, no light, no people."

His voice was rich and deep. It was as if the very red earth was talking and not the wasted husk of a man. It was a voice that mesmerized.

"Earth was a lonely place." He paused and surveyed his audience. Reassured that he had their fullest attention, he continued with a smile.

"But the god Katonda was bored. Earth was his domain, and if he were to rule it, he needed a more exciting place!" The old man chuckled richly.

"The honored Katonda found a large slab of mica rock, 'Ah, out of this stone, I'll create my subjects,' he cried. He struck the stone and a million sparks flew up. They flew so high that they became the stars. He struck the stone again, and this time a flame leaped out. It burned his hand, so he threw it in anger. It became the sun. Kantonda worked long and hard. The new sun burned. He sweated. Sweat droplets as large as boulders rolled off of his back! These became the rivers." The audience held its breath; they knew that the conclusion was near.

"Finally, Katonda was done. Before him stood thousands of stone figures...his subjects. But, they were still just chiseled stone and immovable. So, Katonda breathed some of his own essence into each one and brought them to life. Yet, he saw that his subjects were restless. They had nothing to do on the barren Earth. So Katonda went back to the mica slab and out of the remaining stone, he created beasts and plants and divided some of his essence among them."

The old man smiled at the fifty small, ebony faces staring up at him, "So everyone of you has a part of Katonda's essence. and you share it with everything in this world." A goat bleated in the distance, startling some youngsters. "Ho, ho, even that goat! When we pass, Katonda's breath leaves us, but it's never gone. Oh no!" The voice got ominous. "It's all around us; our anscestors' spirits are everywhere. They control the forces of nature and can influence your very fates. They see everything, and we are their pawns. So don't you dare anger them, for you do not know the magic they are capable of!" The old griot's voice rose to a crescendo and was followed by silence.

His words had the effect he desired. The little faced were looking at him in fear and awe. Their eyes and mouths imitating perfect circles. A few small whimpers were heard throughout.

Just then, a loud snort broke the silence. The quick black eyes darted across the audience, looking for the culprit.

"Ho, ho! Does one of you disagree? Who wants to challenge old Kanaifu?" The youngsters did not meet his eyes.

"Ha!" Again that same impudent voice. It was one of the foreign care takers.

The old storyteller faced the culprit. It was a foreign man. He sat awkwardly on the ground, looking as if he was doing his best to touch as little of it as possible. His arms were crossed, and he wore a skeptical expression.

"Ho, does the sahib find the story not to his satisfaction?" The old man addressed the translator.

The translator said something to the young man which caused him to smirk. He began speaking calmly in his language. One of the female care takers sitting next to him quickly slapped her hand over his mouth. She turned towards the storyteller talking rapidly in a language he did not understand and bowing.

Confused, the old man glanced at the translator.

"Ah," the translator smiled apologetically, "the sahib says that you should not bully the children. He advised you to tell them that it is just a story."

The old man crackled, "Ho, ho the sahib says to say that it's just a story, but it's true. The children should know, it's the only way to protect them from evil spirits."

The young man freed himself from his companion's grasp and spoke rapidly while holding the struggling girl at an arm's length.

The translator looked uncomfortable, "Err, sahib says that you should not confuse the children like that. You are a good storyteller, and spirits and magic belong in stories. Telling a child that they're real is," the translator swallowed, "stupid."

The old man glared at the foreigner and was rewarded with a glare in return.

One of the senior nuns got up quickly, "Alright children, it's time for bed. Let's thank Kiongozi Kanaifu for the story."

A chorus of childish 'thank yous' rang out.

"Oh ho, ho, thank you for listening to this old goat herder little ones. Go on to bed, and may the spirits protect you."

The area around the campfire began to empty out.

The senior nun came over to him, "Thank you. We packed some supplies for you. You are welcome to spend the night here."

"Ah, thank you, but I must go. I left my herd with a friend, and I must go to them. Thank you for the dinner and the supplies." He patted the bag fondly.

The nun smiled and bowed. She turned to walk away when the old man spoke again.

"Ah, one more thing, tell the young sahib that the spirits are watching him closely and he should be careful." The storyteller smiled cheerfully and walked off into the night, leaving the nun smiling uncertainly after him.

**XxXx**

"Hyung-nim, you shouldn't have said that!"

Go Mi Nyu and Hwang Tae Kyung were the only ones left on the dirt path. Mi Nyu held Tae Kyung's hand and helped him navigate in the dark. Crickets chirped. In the distance, a faint roar could be heard. Tae Kyung kept stopping to spit.

"Tfoo, pfoo. Aish! You got dirt in my mouth! Tfoo. Aghhh, my tongue is coated in it!"

She offered him her canteen. He grabbed it, took a mouthful of water, and gurgled.

"Aish," he wiped his mouth, "next time you grab me like that, make sure your hands are clean."

She bowed sheepishly, "I'm sorry about the dirt, but you shouldn't have said that! You shouldn't have contradicted and elder."

"Pig rabbit, he was filling the kids' heads with nonsense. Spirits! Magic! Ha! You run a school here, so you have to make sure that they learn science and can tell between reality and folktales."

"He was just telling them a story."

"Stories are fine. What he was doing was confusing stories with reality. He's going to make them all paranoid! Aish, and I'm going to be the one who has to check underneath their beds, show them that there is nothing behind the door. And I swear, if another kid crawls into my bed because of a nightmare that evil spirits cursed him, I'm going to personally make sure that no storyteller ever enters this camp!"

Mi Nyu laughed.

"Ya, what are you laughing at?" he turned towards her incredulously.

"The children really like you."

Tae Kyung pursed his lips. "Why shouldn't they like me? What, am I not likeable?" He challenged her.

"Oh no, hyung-nim is very likeable...you just take some getting used to."

"Tch, getting used to huh? Then, are you used to me?" He scowled at her.

Mi Nyu quickly changed the subject, "Anyways, the children need stories to explain the world. Things like stars."

Tae Kyung was not happy with the subject change, but he bit the bait, "So do you believe that sparks created stars?"

"Well how would you describe little lights in the sky?"

"Aish, science. It's science! Stars are made out of gaseous elements. The electrons move up and down energy levels. As they move down, energy is released in the form of light. It's science...astrology, quantum physics!"

Mi Nyu stared at him, "Um, alright.'

Suddenly, she grinned, "Well, then hyung-nim is the biggest, brightest ball of gas out there." She gave him a thumbs up.

Tae Kyung was not moved, "Thanks," he said in monotone. "You know pig rabbit, you're getting really arrogant."

She smiled sweetly up at him.

They walked in a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes. The male dormitory came into view. Tae Kyung glanced at his companion; she was practically glowing with happiness.

He grinned, "What are you smiling like a maniac for?"

She turned to him and grinned back, "Ah, I still can't believe that you're really here."

"I've been here for three weeks. You should be used to it by now."

"It's just that...Africa is defiantly not your natural habitat."

He cocked his head to the side, "Hmm, not my natural habitat huh? You know it's your fault that I'm here. If you came home when you were supposed to, I wouldn't have had to travel half way across the world to the middle of nowhere to see you. But, you're a lying pig rabbit, a pig rabbit who didn't keep her promise. "

"Hyung-nim, I couldn't come home, they were understaffed and under supplied!"

"That's why I took a month off and brought the supplies. I'm here to make sure that an unreliable pig rabbit like you keeps her promise. In a week, more volunteers will come, and you'll be free to go home. So for one more week, this is my habitat." He smiled smugly, "You should be grateful." Tae Kyung cleared his throat, "Besides, if you get rid of the flesh-killing sun, the red dust on everything, the possibility of being eaten by a lion, this isn't a bad place."

"Hyung-nim, I'm really, really,really glad that my ball of gas came to see me so out of his natural habitat." She nodded her head enthusiastically.

Tae Kyung's face twiched, "Go Mi Nyu?"

"Hmm?"

"Go back to saying star."

They stopped at the entrance of the male dormitory.

"Goodnight pig rabbit."

"Goodnight hyung-nim. Don't forget to hang your mosquito net this time!"

They stared at each other, neither willing to leave.

Go Mi Nyu glanced left and right. She quickly closed the distance between them and gave him a small peck on the lips. She smiled shyly and ran toward the female dormitory, all the while pressing her nose.

Tae Kyung's lips twitched, a radiant smile broke across his face as he watched her retreating figure.

"The pig rabbit is getting really bold." He grinned, "Hmm, that's not a bad thing." He touched his cheek where she, in her haste, had accidently hit him with her forehead. "Aish, but she should do it more gently or give me some warning."

Dazedly, with a lopsided grin, he opened the door to the male dormitory only to be attacked. Two hands grabbed him around the neck, four latched on to his legs, and two more whacked his torso.

"GYAAHH! Aish. Get off of me! I'm not a spirit. It's me!"

The little boys were reassured that it was indeed their funny foreign care taker and not an evil spirit. They quickly scrambled off of him. One little boy grabbed his hand and indicated for him to check under his bed.

"I hate storytellers," Tae Kyung sighed and went to indulge the boy.

**XxXx**

Two black eyes watched the whole exchange between Hwang Tae Kyung and Go Mi Nyu.

A goat's bleating could be heard in the distance.

** Typing is torture X_X.**

** I did something I promised I wouldn't do anymore...I rewatched an episode of You're Beautiful *sigh* So now I have to write another story for it. Bear with it. Heh, I'm going to try a whole different approach; we'll see how that works out.**

** Anyways, Tae Kyung and Mi Nyu are in Africa right now. I'm trying to add a little bit of African folklore to the story...except I'm a complete novice in this. So, if I mess up grievously, please correct me.^^**

** I made up the story in the beginning (err, I tried to make it folklore-y), but Katonda is a real African god. He is from East Africa and is the god of creation, destiny, and judgement. Oh and a griot is a storyteller. If you read the story, thank you and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I do not own, but let's see how much I can mess up the original. I repeat, I don't own and am only messing with the characters for pure personal enjoyment.**_

"Hyung-nim, how can you move so slowly when you have such long legs?" Go Mi Nyu stopped and turned towards her companion who was shambling slowly behind her.

"Aish, it's so hot! I can feel myself getting darker. And if another fly lands on me, I'm going to go crazy!" Tae Kyung stopped, put down the bags he was carrying, and took a swing from his canteen.

The sun was at its zenith. It beamed down at the people in the busy bazaar. The air was alive with activity: vendors enticed people with their merchandise, bare-footed children ran in-between stalls, goats bleated, chickens squawked, women gracefully weaved through the crowds with water jugs balanced on their heads. Yet no matter how engrossed the people were in their activities, they all stopped to observe the two foreigners- especially the angry, disheveled-looking man.

"Ya! Why are you in such a hurry? Hopping from place to place in this heat. Stand still!" Tae Kyung ordered irritably when Go Mi Nyu began walking away.

"We have to find the way back to the camp. We've been here for three hours!" The girl took in her surroundings worriedly.

"I said I'll find it! We have everything that we were sent for; we can take a break."

Hwang Tae Kyung and Go Mi Nyu had been sent to a small town five kilometers from the village. The camp needed to replenish its supply of salt and soap, and they were volunteered for the job. Now, both were lost.

Mi Nyu stopped and let Tae Kyung catch up with her. Tae Kyung put his bags down and watched in disgust as small rivers of sweat trickled down his arm.

"I can carry your bags," Mi Nyu offered helpfully.

He scowled, "No."

Go Mi Nyu shifted her weight from foot to foot restlessly, "Err...hyung-nim, have you rested yet?"

"Ah! You...really. Can't you stand still? Fine let's go." Tae Kyung jerked his bags off of the ground and took three long strides forward. He stopped and looked around uncertainly, his lips pursed.

"Hyung-nim, we're lost."

"We're not lost. Ahh! That place looks familiar, let's go!" He took a step forward...

"We just came from there."

"Aish, alright, let me think. I just need to concentrate; I'll figure it out." Tae Kyung took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Um, I'll ask for directions."

His eyes snapped open, "Ya! I said I'll figure it out. Don't ask for directions." Go Mi Nyu ignored him and pointed excitedly.

"Oh, hyung-nim look. It's Kanaifu-isshi, the griot from yesterday." The old man was sitting on a makeshift bench, smoking a pipe. Go Mi Nyu ran towards him excitedly.

"Hey, I told you not to ask! Pig rabbit! Darn it." Exasperated, Tae Kyung ran after her.

**XxXx**

The old man was sitting, enjoying the shade when a disheveled girl jumped out right in front of his face. He nearly choked on his pipe. She began speaking gibberish and taking turns bowing and whacking him on the back.

When he regained his breath and felt like he was not in danger of dying, he registered who the girl was. She was one of those foreigners who ran the school. Not only that, he recognized her as the companion of that impudent brat.

And ho ho! There was the impudent brat himself. Dirty and out of breath, yet he still wore that cloak of superiority.

The old man's eyes flickered over him. The young man realized that he was being examined, so he pulled himself up to full height and stared challengingly at the old storyteller.

Kiongozi Kanaifu grinned and turned his attention to the girl.

She was trying to communicate something to him, it seemed like a question. Finally he pieced together her broken Kikuyu and realized that she wanted directions to the camp.

He gave a friendly smile and drew a map in the dirt. The girl studied it (with the boy looking over her shoulder), bowed again, and was pulled away by the boy.

The old storyteller cheerfully waved goodbye to the foreigner who reluctantly returned the wave. The wind erased the map in the sand.

**XxXx**

The unforgiving sun's rays beamed down on the stark landscape, illuminating it's harsh beauty: a rich dark red land speckled with grey stone and meager green shrubs. Heat radiated from the angry red ground. Not a thing stirred, except for two dark silhouettes in the distance.

Tae Kyung and Mi Nyu had been walking for two hours. Both knew that something was wrong- it does not take two hours to cover five kilometers.

Go Mi Nyu studied the barren landscape- maybe they passed the camp without noticing?

"Hyung-nim, we should retrace our steps. We probably missed it."

"How can we miss a whole missionary camp? Impossible." Tae Kyung stopped and systematically scanned the landscape- as if challenging it to spit out the camp.

"Maybe we read the map wrong?"

"No. I checked it too; we were going in the right way."

"Ahh, but you're bad with directions." She pointed out.

Tae Kyung stiffened, "Ya, you yourself decided to go in this direction. I agreed with you."

Go Mi Nyu nodded, "We were probably both wrong."

Tae Kyung pursed his lips and looked away, not willing to admit that they wasted two hours going in the wrong direction yet not having any support for otherwise.

Mi Nyu wiped her brow and took out her canteen, "Oh, I'm almost out of water."

Tae Kyung wordlessly handed her his.

"Oh hyung-nim, I'm fine...really. I'm not thirsty," she lied.

He crossed his arms, "Drink it. I don't need a half-dead pig rabbit."

She took it.

Tae Kyung again surveyed the bleak landscape. "We have to find civilization fast before we completely run out of water. Aish! We're in the middle of nowhere with no GPS, being fried alive!"

"But hyung-nim, at least there are no rabbits," Mi Nyu pointed out enthusiastically, trying to find the silver lining of their situation, "...just lions...and hyenas...and-"

Tae Kyung snorted, "Great, we're going to die, but at least it won't be by rabbits!" Mi Nyu pouted.

He closed his eyes and put a hand on his forehead, "Aish, alright, alright...think logically...calm," he opened his eyes, "Alright, we're not going to die. Let's think this through...we still have some water- that's a plus. We can...we can use the sun to navigate!" He exclaimed triumphantly.

"Erm...do you know in which direction the camp is?"

Tae Kyung deflated, "No."

Mi Nyu didn't miss a beat. "It's alright hyung-nim. Let's just retrace our steps." She grabbed his hand and turned around.

Tae Kyung groaned internally at the prospect of spending two more hours getting back to town and then spending who knows how much time finding the camp.

They were only a few minutes in on their walk back to town when Tae Kyung abruptly stopped.

"Hyung-nim what's wrong? Do you want to take a break?"

He didn't answer her, just stared off into the distance.

"Hyung-nim?" Mi Nyu tugged on his hand to snap him back to reality.

"Pig rabbit, did you see that?" Tae Kyung pointed. She turned to look. There was nothing there except a few grey rocks and a scraggly, twisted tree.

"Um...see what?"

"There! A person. I see a person." He was pointing excitedly.

Mi Nyu looked again- still nothing, just the usual landscape.

Her eyes widened, "Oh no! Hyung-nim I think you're beginning to see things. Um, oh, um let's find shade...water, here drink some water." She tried to force him to drink while fanning him and pushing him towards the meager shade of a thorny bush.

"I'm not seeing things! Look!" He grabbed the hand that was fanning him and turned her in the opposite direction, trying to place her head in his line of sight.

"There's noth...oh! I see someone."

In the distance a thin, stooped figure was slowly getting further and further away.

"Come on, let's catch up." Tae Kyung grabbed her hand and, with energy he did not know he had, began to run after the figure.

"Excuse me! Hey, wait!" The person did not stop.

"Go Mi Nyu, tell him to stop in Kikuyu."

Mi Nyu nodded and breathlessly called after the figure. The person glanced back and sped up.

Tae Kyung stared after the figure incredulously, "Ya! Wasn't that..?"

"Hyung-nim, it's the storyteller!"

They glanced at each other in shock and increased their speed.

"Ya! *huff, huff* We know who you are *huff, huff* Stop!" Tae Kyung gasped out in between breathes.

"Aghusshi! *huff, huff* Please stop!" Mi Nyu pleaded.

The old man did not look back.

Tae Kyung ground his teeth, "Why...that..." He turned to his companion, "We *huff, huff* can definitely catch him."

She nodded her head in determination. They willed their legs to go faster.

The distance between them was closing. Just 20 more meters...15...their legs were eating up the red dirt...12...

Suddenly, the old man disappeared.

"What the..?" They jerked to a halt, breathing heavily. There was no trace of the old griot. He just vanished before their eyes...

"That's...not possible," Tae Kyung panted.

Mi Nyu squinted around, "But...but he's gone!"

Tae Kyung shook his head stubbornly, "No, he has to be somewhere around here," he cupped his mouth, "YA! I KNOW YOU'RE HERE! COME OUT! IT'S YOUR FAULT WE'RE LOST!"

"Hyung-nim, he can't understand you."

"Aish, that doesn't matter! He recognized us; he should come out and help us like a decent person. Hmf, He probably gave us the wrong directions in the first place!"

Mi Nyu sighed dejectedly and looked around. They were way off course now. They were lost, tired, and out of water...at least the sun wasn't shinning as brightly, and the wind was picking up. The wind was really picking up...

She turned around, and her eyes widened.

"Err...hyung-nim, " she squeaked.

Tae Kyung was examining the spot where the old man had stood, he ignored Go Mi Nyu.

"Hyung-nim!" She tugged on his shirt desperately.

"What?" He turned to her impatiently.

Shakily she pointed behind them. He turned.

Dust. A lot of dust. It was rising, swirling into the air like and angry red dragon- blocking out the sun. It stood like a solid wall.

Tae Kyung gasped, staring wide eyed at the nightmare, "Sandstorm..that's not supposed to happen in this region.

The red dragon charged. Go Mi Nyu, not wasting time contemplating whether it was possible, grabbed the shell-shocked Tae Kyung's hand and pummeled forward.

The red dust swelled around them, making it hard to see past the nose. Rock, bush, tree- it was all swallowed up by the raging dust.

They stumbled, fell, got up, charged- all the time carrying themselves forward.

The up and down, sky and ground, merged. It was impossible to distinguish directions- everything was just red.

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet disappeared. The air became clear. It was as if the red monster spit them out.

Airborne..they were airborne. In the confusion the up and down were indistinguishable, now it was clear which was which, and they were going down. Tae Kyung dimly registered that they had fallen of a cliff.

There was no time for words; they only had time to clutch each other tightly.

As they glanced up for the last time, they could make out the old griot standing on the cliff- waving cheerfully.

**XxXx**

Bright. Everything was bright and pure white. Go Mi Nyu was floating. She marveled how wonderfully relaxing it was. Oh! Now something was pulling her down.

She felt herself accelerating downward. Go Mi Nyu squeezed her eyes shut. Just as she was sure she was going to crash, Mi Nyu stopped and landed gently on something soft.

She opened her eyes. Again white and bright, but this time it blinded her. She blinked a few times.

"Aughhhh." Her voice sounded strange.

Mi Nyu tried to get her eyes to adjust- everything was just too white. She sat up and realized that her eyes were fine; everything really was white: white bed, white walls, white floor...

"Where am I?" Her voice was really hoarse.

She swung her legs over the bed and promptly crashed face-down on the floor.

"Ow." She hoisted herself up, only to fall down again. Mi Nyu lay still on the floor for a few seconds. Her body felt strange- it felt too long.

Frustrated, she ground her teeth and pulled herself up slowly using the bed for support. She teetered a little but did not fall.

Go Mi Nyu grinned triumphantly.

She looked down...her feet were bare and...large, and the floor seemed too far away.

Vertigo hit her, and she sat down on the corner of the bed.

"Where am I? Hmm, I was walking with hyung-nim and-" her eyes widened, "Hyung-nim!"

She jumped up abruptly and became intimately acquainted with the floor again. She shakily pulled herself up and scanned the room.

There was another bed in the opposite corner of the room. Mi Nyu awkwardly shuffled over to it.

"Hyung-nim," something stirred. Yes! The bed was occupied.

She pulled back the cover-

-and saw herself lying in bed.

Go Mi Nyu dropped the bed cover and scrambled back in panic.

"Am...am I dead? Oh no! Oh no! What should I do?" She felt faint. No, she couldn't faint now; she had to figure out if she was dead!

"Mother Superior help me!" Mi Nyu spun around the room, desperately trying to conjure up Mother Superior. Instead, in her peripheral vision she saw another too familiar face.

"Hyung-nim!"

There was Hwang Tae Kyung, looking at her with the same panic she felt.

"Hyung-nim!"She smiled radiantly. He called something out and returned her radiant smile.

Hwang Tae Kyung and Go Mi Nyu ran towards each other with arms outstretched. Just as they were about to jump into each others arms, Go Mi Nyu crashed into something solid.

"Ow." She rubbed her bruised nose, and tried to reach Tae Kyung again. He reached for her as well. Yet, it seemed as if he just couldn't get through some sort of glass.

Mi Nyu frowned. Tae Kyung frowned. She rubbed her nose. He rubbed his.

Something in her head clicked, and her eyes widened in realization. Tae Kyung did the same. She clutched her face...Hwang Tae Kyung's face.

"Oh no! Oh no!-Wait this is just a dream," she smiled happily, "Yup, it's only a dream." Go Mi Nyu fainted.

**Thanks to writetress (we can work out a schedule later ;)), mizuki11(it's almost July!), dzach (heh, do you still like it?), thebestest11(ball of gas- I was proud of that line^^, but he's a cute ball of gas), AnnabethChaseIsMe1012 (thanks for reading, and I like your story too:)), and Ann (thank you and here's an update...err I know it's long) for the wonderful reviews. They brought tears of happiness to my eyes. T_T**

**Before anybody says I ripped off "Freaky Friday"...I admit it, I totally ripped off that movie (Additional Disclaimer: I do not own "Freaky Friday...if I did, I'd be freaky rich:D). Anyways, sorry for the looong chapter, it came out a lot better in my head (there were pictures and stuff...phooy, making ideas into words is hard X.X). If you read it thank you, and please review...flames are welcome (seriously flame me all you want ^^). If you don't review...well, I have the characters at my mercy, and I will kill them off one by one...starting with Shin Woo :D Bwahahahahaha.**


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